Uncle Dave




What is Mardi Gras? The observance of a "Carnival" (aka Mardi Gras) before the Lenten period (a Christian symbolic penitence from Ash Wednesday to Easter) is not new. It originated in the middle of the second century in Rome when the Fast of the 40 days of Lent was preceded by a feast of several days during which time participants delivered themselves up to voluntary madness, put on masks, clothed themselves like spectres, gave themselves up to Bacchus and Venus and considered all pleasure allowable. The name carnival is derived from the Latin Caro, Carnis, flesh, and vale, farewell (according to Ducange, from the Latin denomination of the feasts of the Middle Ages, carnis levamen, solace of the flesh), because at that time people took leave of flesh. The carnival of the modern world is nothing more or less than the Saturnalia of the Christian Romans who could not forget their pagan festivals. From Rome, the celebration spread to other European countries and finally to America. Carnival is still observed in many American cities but certainly not with the glamour and grandeur that is attendant to the New Orleans carnival which had its birth in 1827, when a group of students, recently returned from school in Paris, donned strange costumes and danced their way through the streets. The students got the idea for their Mardi Gras revelry from the celebrations they had experienced in Paris. New Orleanians caught the enthusiasm of the youths and from 1827 to 1833. Mardi Gras each year saw more and more revelries, culminating in an annual Mardi Gras ball. In 1833 Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville, a rich plantation owner, solicited large amount to help finance an organized Mardi Gras celebration. It was not until 1837 however, that the first Mardi Gras parade was staged. The first description of a Mardi Gras parade is of a single float in 1839 which was a crude thing, but a great success. It is reported that the float moved through the streets while the crowd roared hilariously. Since then Mardi Gras in New Orleans has been a definite success. It continued to grow, with additional organizations participating each year until the Carnival as we know it today was the result. There is no celebration in the world which is as much misconstrued as the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Laboring under a misconception, the vast majority of people outside of New Orleans believe that the New Orleans Mardi Gras is a celebration spreading over a period of a few days just before Ash Wednesday. In reality the New Orleans carnival is similar to the Fasching of Germany which begins on the twelfth night after Christmas and continues until Shrove Tuesday. The expression Mardi Gras is from the French, meaning Fat Tuesday." Instead of being a celebration of several days duration, the New Orleans Carnival is a long series of balls over a period of many weeks climaxing with the celebration on Mardi Gras day when Rex, King of the Carnival, receives the keys to the city and rules for the day. Although Rex is the king of kings of the Carnival, the oldest organization is the Mistick Krewe of Comus which was organized in 1857. Rex did not appear until 1872. In 1937, There were between 25 and 30 krewes including several organizations for women. In 1996, there will be no fewer than 50-60 krewes and accompanying parades and other festivities. Membership in the krewes is through invitation only. Members of the krewes who participate in the annual ball are known as "the cast" and their identity is never officiially revealed. Numerically krewes run from a membership of less than 100 to over 300; some krewes such as Endymion, boast over 1,500 members. Dues vary depending entirely on the magnitude of the organization and its importance in the make-up of carnival. In addition to the dues, members are taxed for krewe favors, after-ball dinners and other incidentals. While each organization has the regular group of officers such as president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, etc., the captain is the real executive and is in absolute control of the presentation of the tableau on the night of the ball. The ball consists of a tableau depicting some event in history or mythology, song, or story. The ballroom, usually the Municipal Auditorium (or Superdome for some of the larger krewes), becomes a brilliant stage set with the members of the organization as the actors. Each individual krewe has its own distinctive manner of presentation. Over each ball reigns a king and queen and their courts. As like every other member of the krewe, the king and his dukes are under the mask and their identity never officially revealed. Rex, the King of the Carnival, is an exception to this rule. The queen and her maids are selected by the captain and the executive committee of each organization. They are notified of their selection far in advance of the ball but their identity is kept from the public and the members of the krewe until the night of the ball. For the better part debutantes make up the courts of the krewe but there are exceptions to this rule. Attendance at the ball is by invitation only. Unless the visitor to New Orleans has some connection or contact with a member of a krewe and is in a position to receive an invitation they are unable to be present. As a result, the general run of visitors to the New Orleans Mardi Gras are only privileged to witness the street pageants and do not participate in the Carnival festivities except on Mardi Gras day during the hours of promiscuous masking which is from sunrise to sunset. In recent times, some krewes have staged elaborate balls featuring celebrities and national musical acts that are open to the public.

What is Mardi Gras?
The observance of a "Carnival" (aka Mardi Gras) before the Lenten period (a Christian symbolic penitence from Ash Wednesday to Easter) is not new. It originated in the middle of the second century in Rome when the Fast of the 40 days of Lent was preceded by a feast of several days during which time participants delivered themselves up to voluntary madness, put on masks, clothed themselves like spectres, gave themselves up to Bacchus and Venus and considered all pleasure allowable.

The name carnival is derived from the Latin Caro, Carnis, flesh, and vale, farewell (according to Ducange, from the Latin denomination of the feasts of the Middle Ages, carnis levamen, solace of the flesh), because at that time people took leave of flesh. The carnival of the modern world is nothing more or less than the Saturnalia of the Christian Romans who could not forget their pagan festivals. From Rome, the celebration spread to other European countries and finally to America. Carnival is still observed in many American cities but certainly not with the glamour and grandeur that is attendant to the New Orleans carnival which had its birth in 1827, when a group of students, recently returned from school in Paris, donned strange costumes and danced their way through the streets. The students got the idea for their Mardi Gras revelry from the celebrations they had experienced in Paris.

New Orleanians caught the enthusiasm of the youths and from 1827 to 1833. Mardi Gras each year saw more and more revelries, culminating in an annual Mardi Gras ball. In 1833 Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville, a rich plantation owner, solicited large amount to help finance an organized Mardi Gras celebration. It was not until 1837 however, that the first Mardi Gras parade was staged. The first description of a Mardi Gras parade is of a single float in 1839 which was a crude thing, but a great success. It is reported that the float moved through the streets while the crowd roared hilariously. Since then Mardi Gras in New Orleans has been a definite success. It continued to grow, with additional organizations participating each year until the Carnival as we know it today was the result.

There is no celebration in the world which is as much misconstrued as the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Laboring under a misconception, the vast majority of people outside of New Orleans believe that the New Orleans Mardi Gras is a celebration spreading over a period of a few days just before Ash Wednesday. In reality the New Orleans carnival is similar to the Fasching of Germany which begins on the twelfth night after Christmas and continues until Shrove Tuesday. The expression Mardi Gras is from the French, meaning Fat Tuesday."

Instead of being a celebration of several days duration, the New Orleans Carnival is a long series of balls over a period of many weeks climaxing with the celebration on Mardi Gras day when Rex, King of the Carnival, receives the keys to the city and rules for the day. Although Rex is the king of kings of the Carnival, the oldest organization is the Mistick Krewe of Comus which was organized in 1857. Rex did not appear until 1872.

In 1937, There were between 25 and 30 krewes including several organizations for women. In 1996, there will be no fewer than 50-60 krewes and accompanying parades and other festivities.

Membership in the krewes is through invitation only. Members of the krewes who participate in the annual ball are known as "the cast" and their identity is never officiially revealed. Numerically krewes run from a membership of less than 100 to over 300; some krewes such as Endymion, boast over 1,500 members.

Dues vary depending entirely on the magnitude of the organization and its importance in the make-up of carnival. In addition to the dues, members are taxed for krewe favors, after-ball dinners and other incidentals.

While each organization has the regular group of officers such as president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, etc., the captain is the real executive and is in absolute control of the presentation of the tableau on the night of the ball.

The ball consists of a tableau depicting some event in history or mythology, song, or story. The ballroom, usually the Municipal Auditorium (or Superdome for some of the larger krewes), becomes a brilliant stage set with the members of the organization as the actors. Each individual krewe has its own distinctive manner of presentation.

Over each ball reigns a king and queen and their courts. As like every other member of the krewe, the king and his dukes are under the mask and their identity never officially revealed. Rex, the King of the Carnival, is an exception to this rule.

The queen and her maids are selected by the captain and the executive committee of each organization. They are notified of their selection far in advance of the ball but their identity is kept from the public and the members of the krewe until the night of the ball. For the better part debutantes make up the courts of the krewe but there are exceptions to this rule.

Attendance at the ball is by invitation only. Unless the visitor to New Orleans has some connection or contact with a member of a krewe and is in a position to receive an invitation they are unable to be present. As a result, the general run of visitors to the New Orleans Mardi Gras are only privileged to witness the street pageants and do not participate in the Carnival festivities except on Mardi Gras day during the hours of promiscuous masking which is from sunrise to sunset.

In recent times, some krewes have staged elaborate balls featuring celebrities and national musical acts that are open to the public.